


pretty paper.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: i refuse to admit there was a beach divorce (aka all my charles/erik fics) [74]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Alternate Universe – Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe – No Powers, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Boys Kissing, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, December writing challenge, First Kiss, Friendship, Gay Character, Gay Male Character, Getting Together, Holidays, Inspired by Music, Kissing, M/M, Male Friendship, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Relationship(s), Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21777694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blueWrap your presents to your darling from youPretty pencils to write I love youPretty paper, pretty ribbons of blueor:  Erik is having the twins spend Christmas with him for the first time but since he is Jewish, he has no idea what to do for them.  His good friend Charles comes to the rescue and Erik thinks that maybe it's time to take their friendship to the next level.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Series: i refuse to admit there was a beach divorce (aka all my charles/erik fics) [74]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1202509
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22
Collections: December Writing Challenge - 2019





	pretty paper.

**Author's Note:**

> happy December from the artist formerly known as porcelainsimplicity. 'tis still me, just a different username.
> 
> Day 13 of my December writing challenge. Prompt by vampiricallyinclined on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Day 13 prompt: “What are you doing to that poor wrapping paper?”  
> Day 13 title song: Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson

Erik looked across the table as Charles talked with the waiter and he couldn't help but think that Charles was beautiful. Charles was amazing. Charles was someone he could picture himself spending the rest of his life with. But Charles was just his friend, and even though their dinners had become a bit more romantic in recent weeks, Erik was pretty sure that Charles would laugh if Erik suggested that they perhaps take their relationship to the next level. So, he really needed to work up the courage to ask him if that was something that Charles would be interested in because he knew that this idea wouldn't leave his head until he did something about it.

He just wished he wasn't so terrified about it.

Charles turned back to him as the waiter walked away, and he gave Erik a smile that Erik thought he could live for. “They happen to have peppermint ice cream and I'm making you have some whether you want to or not.”

Erik laughed. “I might not celebrate Christmas, Charles, but I do enjoy some peppermint ice cream. I think it's ridiculous that it's only served around this time of year.”

“I could not agree more,” Charles said, leaning back in his chair. “Are you nervous about having the twins for this?”

“Terrified, really. I don't know anything about how to have Christmas and they're going to be expecting it.”

“You have prepared for it though, right?” Charles asked, reaching for his drink.

Erik just shook his head. “I told you, I don't know what to do.”

“Erik, it's December twenty-first. Please tell me that you have at least bought the twins lots of presents.”

Erik groaned and ran his hands over his face. “They'll be expecting lots of presents? I've only gotten them each one.”

Charles just shook his head. “I know you don't know anything about Christmas traditions, but surely you know that lots of presents are part of Christmas, especially for children that are Peter and Wanda's age.”

“I'll be perfectly honest, Charles. I've spent too much time arguing with Magda lately to even think about what needs to be done for the twins.”

“Well, you'll just have to prepare for it then,” Charles said, looking at him for a moment. “Have you decorated?”

“Of course not.”

“When do you get the twins anyway?”

“The morning of the twenty-third.”

Charles's eyes widened. “You've got about a day to prepare for this? Erik, honestly.”

Erik groaned. “I know, I know. But I have no idea what to do, Charles. Absolutely no idea.”

“Well, I do so I'm going to save your ass,” Charles said, shaking his head. “You and I are going to a store after dinner. And that is not something you can get out of. I don't care what you had planned for the rest of the night. This is far more important.”

Erik breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Charles. I literally cannot thank you enough.”

“Don't worry about that,” Charles said, smiling when the waiter came back with the peppermint ice cream. “Perfect. Now, eat this and then we'll get to a store and I'll get you set up with everything you'll need.”

Erik nodded and reached for a spoon. “That will be most welcome. And I'm going to find some way to thank you for this.”

As Erik stuck the spoon into the ice cream, he couldn't help but think that maybe asking Charles about their relationship taking that next step might be thanks enough.

**********

Erik and Charles walked into the store and Charles headed straight for the carts, getting one free for Erik and then turning back to get himself one. “We need more than one cart?” Erik asked, confused.

“Yes, we do,” Charles said, beginning to walk further into the store. “Trust me.”

“I am trusting you with all of this because I have no clue,” Erik said, following him. 

Charles headed straight for the Christmas section, and he stopped next to the fake trees. “How high is your ceiling?”

“Excuse me?”

“I need to know how high your ceiling is.”

“Um,” Erik said, thinking about it for a moment. “Eight or nine feet, maybe?”

“Thank you,” Charles said, looking through the boxes until he found a seven foot tall tree. He pulled it from its place and place it into the cart. “There's your tree.”

Erik stared at the box for a moment. “There a tree in there? How is there a tree in there?”

“It's in pieces, Erik,” Charles said as though Erik should have known that. “You assemble it and it becomes a tree.”

“Oh,” Erik said, following along as Charles headed towards the ornaments. “So, now we need stuff to decorate it, right?”

“Precisely,” Charles said, coming to a stop in front of the ornaments. “Now, you could go with all of the same type of ornaments or you could buy a collection of mismatched ones that would in my opinion give the tree more character.”

Erik surveyed the ornaments on offer before spotting one from Peter's favorite television show. “Peter really would like that one,” he said, pointing to it. “And Wanda would probably like that princess one over there.”

“Then let's pick out a bunch that the twins would like, and then we'll get some of the more uniform ornaments to go along with them,” Charles suggested, and Erik nodded. 

“You'll know far more about what will look good on this tree than I will.”

They spent the next several minutes picking out various ornaments and putting them into the cart, and when they were finished, Erik thought they were done. But Charles walked to a different aisle and started asking him questions about Santa Claus and snowmen and reindeer and garlands and all kinds of things that Erik hadn't even heard of. Before they were done, the entire cart that Charles had was packed full. 

Erik wondered what on earth he had a cart for as they walked away from the Christmas section, but Charles just led him to the toy section and turned to look at him. “Pick out a bunch of stuff that the twins will like. I don't have any clue about that.”

“No, I guess you wouldn't,” Erik said, thinking about how much he'd like for the twins to know Charles as well as he did and for Charles to know the twins just as much. 

Erik shook himself of those thoughts and started to look, taking things off the shelf and putting them in the cart every time he saw something that he thought that they'd like. Before he even realized it, the cart that he'd been pushing was completely full like Charles's was. Erik shook his head as he looked at them. “I had no idea this was going to be so expensive. I'm not going to like my credit card bill after this.”

“Trust me, seeing the joy on their faces on Christmas morning will make that credit card bill worth it,” Charles said, smiling at him. “Do you already have Christmas wrapping paper for the presents or do we need to get some?”

“We need to get some,” Erik sighed. “I was just going to wrap the presents that I had for them in the same paper I have for their birthdays.”

Charles just shook his head. “Erik, honestly. You should have asked for help with this days ago.”

Charles led him back to the Christmas section and picked out several rolls of Christmas paper before turning to Erik and smiling. “I think that's everything that you need.”

“Thank you, Charles,” Erik said, and then they headed to the registers and went through the line. 

Once everything was bagged and put into Erik's car, he turned to Charles and thought about asking him about the potential for a date right then and there before nerves got the better of him. “I cannot thank you enough, Charles. I just hope that I know what to do with this stuff now that I have it.”

“I'll come over after work tomorrow to help you,” Charles offered. “I'll make sure everything is put in the right place.” 

Erik breathed a sigh of relief. “I don't know what I'd do without you,” he said without thought.

Charles laughed. “I don't know what you'd do either. I'll see you tomorrow, Erik.”

“Goodnight, Charles,” Erik said as Charles got into his car. “I'll see you then.”

Charles backed his car out of the space and waved before driving away, and Erik slumped down against his car and sighed. He really needed to talk to Charles, especially after everything Charles was doing for him.

If only the thought didn't terrify him so much.

**********

By the time that Charles arrived the next evening, Erik was ready to tear his hair out. He had no idea what to do with this shit and it was just strewn about the house because he'd start in on something and then stop it when he had no clue what he was doing and then he moved on, the same thing happening with that next thing. Charles coming over was an absolute godsend because Charles would know what to do.

Charles had been expecting to walk into a decorated house, not the Christmas disaster area that it looked like. “Oh, Erik.”

“I have no idea what to do with this shit,” Erik said seriously, heading towards the dining room. “And wrapping the presents is the worst. The motherfucking boxes these toys come in these days. Can't be just a rectangle. No, no. They've got to have four completely different sides and I have no idea how to wrap this stuff.”

Charles followed Erik into the dining room and took in the sight of the two presents Erik had managed to wrap, shaking his head. “What are you doing to that poor wrapping paper? There is no way you can give the twins presents like that. They may be six, Erik, but they'll look at these and think about how awfully they're wrapped.”

Erik groaned and dropped his forehead to the table. “I don't know what to do, Charles. I really don't.”

Charles walked over to him and pulled the scissors out of Erik's hand. “How about you go make us a drink while I wrap the presents? I'll get them done up better than you are doing.”

Erik raised his head and watched as Charles sat down on the other side of the table. “I love you for this,” he said, standing up and heading into the kitchen.

Erik reached for the bottle of scotch, mentally kicking himself for what he'd said. He didn't mean it, didn't ever want to say that Charles without meaning it, didn't want to stop convincing himself that what he was thinking was the truth and what he was feeling was not. As he got the glasses, he sighed heavily and finally allowed himself to process the thought that his mind had been threatening to for the past year. 

He was in love with Charles.

That made the prospect of telling him he'd like to take their relationship to a new level even more terrifying because if Charles rejected that idea then Erik was going to be devastated. He told himself again that Charles had been part of these dinners that had turned more romantic, that Charles had been a willing participant in all of them, that Charles was the one who started suggesting new, more romantic locations for them to go have their bi-monthly dinners. Charles was just as much part of the reason that those dinners were turning out that way as he was. 

Erik forced that train of thought out of his mind and poured them both a drink, walking back into the dining room with glasses in hand only to find a lot of the presents wrapped and Charles halfway through another. “How the fuck did you get those wrapped so quickly?”

“One of my jobs when I was a kid was working at one of those gift wrapping stations at the mall,” Charles said as Erik sat down. “It started out as a charity thing but then they kept offering me money to come back and do it again the next year, and well, I needed the money to buy things for people so I took it. I became an excellent gift wrapper because of it.”

Erik laughed as Charles finished wrapping the toy with ease. “That's hysterical.”

Charles just looked up at him as he reached for his glass. “I am currently the one who is saving your ass so that your children can have a good Christmas, so think about that before you start the teasing that I know you want to do.”

“I really cannot thank you enough for that,” Erik said. “For all of this. I would have been completely lost and I would have ruined things for them.”

“I'm not going to lie to you and say that you wouldn't have because you would have,” Charles said, turning his attention to a different toy. “I think it's great that you're getting to experience this holiday with your children. You might not celebrate it but I think getting to see the twins' excitement will be good for you.”

“Good for me?”

“Erik, it's been very clear that you and Magda have not been getting along recently. Two weeks ago you were afraid that she'd take this time with them away from you.”

Erik sighed and took a long sip of his scotch. “I don't like her new boyfriend.”

“She's going to Oregon to meet his parents so I'd say that this relationship of theirs has become pretty serious,” Charles said. “And I will be glad to list off all the reasons why you and Magda were a disaster together if you'd like me to.”

“It's not that,” Erik said seriously. “It's that the twins have been telling me things about what life is like when the boyfriend is around and I really, really do not like the sounds of this. Magda has gotten herself in a situation with him that makes me worry for the health and safety of my children. I'm thinking of petitioning the court for full custody.”

Charles looked up at him as Erik drained his glass. “I think that sounds like something we should talk out. But at our next dinner. We have too much work to do to do it now.”

“Alright,” Erik said, standing up. “I need some more scotch. You want me to top yours off?”

“No,” Charles said, shaking his head. “I need to drive home and the roads were already icy when I came here. I don't want to be unable to think or react properly on the way home.”

“I'll make sure that we get done as quickly as possible then,” Erik said, heading towards the kitchen. “I don't want you to get in an accident.”

“We're getting them done quickly but right!” Charles called out after him. “Because I am determined that you're going to give the twins the best Christmas they've ever had!”

Erik walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face. Charles would never know how much that meant to him.

**********

Once Charles was finished with the presents, he headed into the living room to find pieces of the tree all over the place and he sighed. Looking around the room, he realized that there wasn't even a place for the tree, and he stood there for a moment before deciding that the armchair in the corner could be moved to near the fireplace and the tree would fit there. When Erik made his way into the living room after getting off the phone with the twins, he found Charles dragging the chair across the room. “What are you doing?”

“There needs to be a place to put the tree, Erik,” Charles said as he got the chair into the place that he wanted it to be. “So, I'm making room for it.”

Erik groaned again. “I honestly have no idea what I'd be doing without you right now. Peter was just going on about how much he can't wait for Santa Claus to come. If I hadn't had your help, he'd probably think that he hadn't.”

“I'm sure he'd think that,” Charles said, surveying the pieces of the tree until he found the base. “Come help me lift these.”

Erik walked over to him and then they got the tree assembled, Charles searching through the bags on the sofa until he found the ornaments and lights. Erik stood there as Charles began to decorate the tree, holding things when Charles asked him to. “You seem to be something of an expert in how to put up decorations.”

Charles sighed. “My mother cared about little more than the drink in her hand and who could refill it, so it was up to me and my sister to do everything for the holidays. We decorated ourselves and it's a skill I have. It's generally not ever useful but I'm happy that I can use it for this purpose.”

“Well, you're very good at it,” Erik said, handing over another ornament when Charles asked for one.

“Thank you. And you should turn on the radio so we can hear some Christmas music. I'm sure the twins will be expecting that so you might want to get used to it.”

Erik sighed. “You're probably right about that.”

He made his way over to the radio and turned it onto the station that Charles told him to. They worked in silence after that, Erik getting used to the music and Charles concentrating on the tree. When the tree was finished and it was time to decorate the mantel and hang the stockings, a song came on and Erik smiled when Charles started singing along. He had never heard Charles sing before. “You're a very good singer too.”

Charles closed his eyes as he realized he'd been singing out loud. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sing along.”

“Don't stop on my account,” Erik said, reaching for one of the stockings and handing it over. “Sing all you want.”

“That's quite alright,” Charles said. “What are you thinking of the music?”

“It is very pleasant,” Erik replied. “I can see why certain songs are so popular. I am not one for that Mariah Carey one though.”

Charles laughed. “Get ready to hear that one a lot.”

Erik could only sigh before Charles started asking him to hand things over again. As they kept walking throughout the house and decorating it, he couldn't help but think that this was the way things were supposed to be. Charles helping to decorate the house for Christmas, not just because the twins would be there, but because he would be. That thought terrified him too, but before he could think about it too much, Charles turned to him with that brilliant smile and told him that it was time to put the garland on the stairs. 

Seeing that smile directed at him just made Erik's entire world better.

By the time that Charles was telling him that everything was done, Erik had almost worked up the nerve to say something about what he was thinking. He walked into the dining room and began to collect presents, walking into the living room with them before Charles could stop him. “Erik!” he called out. “You can't put the presents underneath the tree yet!”

Erik poked his head around the corner. “Why not?”

“Because the children will think that Santa has already been here,” Charles said. “Some of those presents are addressed as being from Santa.”

“What for?”

Charles just rolled his eyes. “They will be expecting presents from Santa, Erik. If they don't get presents from Santa then they're going to think that Santa didn't really come and it will have them start questioning the myth.”

“Of course,” Erik murmured. “Of course, the twins would be expecting toys from Santa. I am so clueless when it comes to this. I'm going to fuck this up so badly.”

“Don't worry about it,” Charles said, smiling at him. “You're going to do just fine.”

“No, I'm not,” Erik said, walking back out of the living room and setting the presents down on the floor. “So when do I put the presents out then?”

“After the twins have gone to bed on Christmas Eve,” Charles said, walking towards the door. “And if you have any other questions, I'm just a phone call away. But I really do need to leave now.”

Erik watched as Charles put on his coat and gloves, and he waited until he was about to put his scarf on before deciding to just say it. “I cannot thank you enough for this.”

“It's fine, Erik,” Charles said. “I don't need a thank you.”

Charles went to walk towards the door but Erik grasped him by the elbow before he could get too far. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

“Erik, we have dinner every other Thursday,” Charles said, confused. “Of course, we can have dinner again.”

Erik forced himself to take a deep breath. “Yes, we do, but this would be different. It would be on a different day and it would have a different intention.”

Charles stood there for a moment. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

Erik took another deep breath. “Yes.”

Charles broke out into a grin. “I would love to go on a date with you, Erik.”

Erik breathed a sigh of relief and Charles turned towards the door again. “I really do need to get going now but how about you call me once the twins are back with Magda and we can arrange it.”

Erik pulled Charles back again when he started to walk away. “Erik,” Charles said. “I really need to leave.”

Erik knew that but there was just one other thing he had to get across to Charles, and the only way he could think of to do it was to kiss him. So, he pulled Charles into a kiss, and Charles sighed happily into it. When they broke apart, Charles was grinning again and Erik grinned back. “That was a nice way to start off a new phase of our relationship,” Charles said. “But I really do have to leave now.”

Erik nodded and let go of his elbow. “Merry Christmas, Charles. I really cannot thank you enough for this.”

“The date and that kiss were thanks enough,” Charles said. “And you have a merry Christmas as well, okay? It might not be your holiday but I bet you'll be swept up into the celebration of it once you see how excited Peter and Wanda are.”

“I think you're probably right about that,” Erik said.

“Goodnight, Erik,” Charles said as he opened the door.

“Goodnight, Charles.” Erik replied, and then Charles walked out the door. 

After the door was shut, Erik walked over to it and locked it, leaning up against it for a moment before standing up and walking towards the living room, thinking that it looked like a real winter wonderland in there. Erik stood and watched the tree for a moment before deciding that he needed to involve Charles every year. He would have had no clue what to do, and he silently thanked whatever deity had brought Charles into his life before walking away.


End file.
